Victoria Mboko is a rising star in the tennis world, dominating courts worldwide at only 18. (Photo illustration: Yahoo Canada; photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
If you’re paying any attention to the world of tennis, you’ve likely come across the name Victoria Mboko. The Canadian athlete may only be 18, but she’s climbing rankings at a swift pace — and she has the work ethic to show she belongs at the top.
The Charlotte, N.C.-born, Toronto-raised daughter of Congolese parents might be new to the scene, but she’s making every moment count for her first season on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit. Mboko started the season outside the top 300, but quickly surged to the 85th spot in the WTA rankings. Now, she’s ranked at 24th following her first WTA title win in Montreal on Thursday night.
Mboko defeated Naomi Osaka in a stunning match for the Canadian Open, proving victorious against the four-time Grand Slam champion in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 final. After beating Osaka, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Sofia Kenin in the tournament, Mboko reportedly became the second-youngest woman to ever defeat four Grand Slam champions in a single tournament. She now sits behind Serena Williams, who earned that title at the 1999 US Open.
“Tennis takes up so much of my life that sometimes, it’s really hard to not even talk about tennis or even go a day without talking about it because it’s your livelihood,” Mboko explains during a conversation with Yahoo Canada for OT Diaries. “It’s kind of your job.”
In March, she earned her first WTA Tour-level win in a first-round match against Camila Osorio at the Miami Open. Later in May, she qualified for the Italian Open, beating Arianna Zucchini, but later lost to Coco Gauff. But a comeback at the French Open saw Mboko land her first Grand Slam victory against Lulu Sun.
While the Burlington, Ont., resident rarely spends time without a tennis racket in her hand, it’s the outdoor jogs, dog walks and family connections that keep her grounded. Keep reading to learn how Mboko spends her free time, why she avoids setting goals for herself and more.
After her Thursday night win at the Canadian Open, Mboko is reportedly the second-youngest woman to ever defeat four Grand Slam champions in a single tournament. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Everyone can see what might be happening during a tennis match, but what does your life look like off the court?
My rest days are a lot more relaxed and chill. I’m a lot more free in my mind because I don’t have as much to do. I feel like on those days, I sleep in a ton and I take my mornings very slow. I probably go to my local cafe and do some work on my computer. I really don’t think about tennis at all.
How do you find rest and upkeep your mental health when you’re away from tennis?
On my days off, I feel like I’m running a lot of errands to make up for the time that I don’t have when I’m practicing or playing tennis. I also like to go shopping a lot. I like to go to Sephora, Zara or H&M and get more clothes, or skincare and makeup. I like to go out with my friends a lot too, and just do fun things here and there.
Elite athletes’ jobs require intensive health and wellness routines to ensure they’re always at peak performance levels. But what do they do on their days off? And is there anything we can learn from them? In our new series OT Diaries, we ask your favourite players the things they do to get their minds and bodies ready for game day that have absolutely nothing to do with their sport — from how they unwind and what they’re binge-watching to their favourite eats, what products they swear by and what fitness looks like for fun.
At the end of the day, sometimes I’ll do some stretching or yoga — but not in a tennis sense. Just as an overall way to be more relaxed.
Do you play other sports?
I don’t really do any other sports or anything, but I like to go on runs a lot, like outdoor runs along some trails. Especially when I’m home, I like to go on my trail and just have a little jog around my park.
That’s not even really related to tennis. Sometimes, say if I have a couple days off and I still want to be active because I’m more of an active person, I’ll go on runs or walk my dog.
I presume tennis is a very intense, aggressive, mentally-rigorous sport. Does running help you mentally?
Oh, it definitely does. If I’m always thinking about tennis and there’s really nothing else going on, you’re kind of in a breakdown a little bit. You’re not going to feel that much freedom within yourself, so I think it’s really important to have those kinds of things.
We have a dog at home, so she’s really great. I bring her everywhere. Especially when I come home, it’s really nice to have her.
I love that. What’s her name and her breed?
Ivy. She’s a Yorkshire Terrier.
I’d love to discuss some of your recovery techniques. Is there anything that you use?
I do a lot of cupping, but my go-to is the Normatec Boots. I just put on my Normatec Boots, put it on the highest setting and do it for as long as I possibly can while scrolling through Instagram or TikTok.
I think it helps a lot with the blood flow and after you take it off, especially if you do a very intense session of it, then your legs feel a little bit flimsy.
You previously said you don’t like to set goals for yourself. Can you share more about that?
The reason why I usually say that or like to think that way is because in tennis, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s such an up and down sport. One week you can have a really good week, and some other weeks you don’t have as good of a week.
The Toronto-raised athlete avoids setting goals for herself because tennis is such an “up and down sport,” and she prefers to remain positive. (Photo by Gao Jing/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Everything is super unexpected and that’s why, for myself, I don’t like to set goals, just because mentally, I always want to be in a good place. And I want everything to be taken in a positive way, and I think that’s good for me because you don’t really get too down on yourself and you always look ahead. That, overall, really helps you as a person to grow and as a player to not really set high expectations for yourself. That can catch up to you.
You’ve also said Serena Williams is a major role model for you. What’s it like looking up to her game and her strength in the sport itself?
Growing up, I always used to watch her playing the Rogers Cup and/or on TV playing the U.S. Open. I’ve always loved watching her matches and I’ve always loved the way she plays, and I think that she has so much presence on the court. She was such a legend at the time. I always felt like I wanted to be like her.
Then again, I’m not her — I’m my own person. But she’s always been my role model and I’ve always loved to see her play.
Do you have any other role models that you follow for your everyday life?
I’d probably say my sister. She’s a lot older than me but she’s always someone who is able to find solutions for me when some things go wrong. I just love the person she is, so I think I look up to her as well.
Mboko stormed past former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka at the Canadian Open on Aug. 7 in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 match in front of more than 11,000 spectators. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
That’s so sweet. How many siblings do you have?
I have three older siblings.
I read that they all also play tennis. Are they competitive or supportive?
I’d say I was more competitive as a younger kid because they’re a lot older than me. But for them, they were always super supportive. It was never ever really competitive. They all wanted the best for me.
Even until today. Sometimes they’ll come to my tournaments and support me. I’m so lucky to have siblings that are always there for me. Especially as a little sister, I think it’s almost by law for them to come and help me out when they can.
You’re a powerhouse in tennis right now. What’s it like in terms of your family?
They’re super supportive of me. Also as a family, we know it’s really important to stay very kind of in your own bubble, because sometimes things can get really hectic.
Mboko notes she doesn’t like looking at articles or social media chatter about herself, but can sense she’s making moves in her sport. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
They do a really good job of keeping me grounded and not get caught up in media and everything else. I think having family and close friends are so important because they’re the people who’ve known you since you were a baby. So, they’ve been doing a really great job of helping me stay really focused.
You’re in the media so much nowadays. Coco Gauff said you’re playing top-level tennis. What’s it like being in such a bright spotlight at such a young age?
I don’t really like to look at stuff that’s about me. So, I never really noticed how big the noise is, or how things are going about on social media. But I can tell things have started to get bigger.
I’m disconnected from it all, which also helps me live my everyday life more normally. I just want to live as normal a life as possible and I just like to keep things to myself.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
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